Purpose of this document is to help you think about specific plannning required to design and build a web site that successfully meet project goals.

The Intent

What are the goals of this project?

If you have multiple goals, what are the 2-3 primary goals for the project?

How do you expect you will you achieve your goals?

How will you define and measure success for your project

What is the project budget?

What is the timeline for project milestones?

What are you attempting to achieve with the development of a web site?

For your site, which is more important: functionality/application or look & feel?

What do you perceive as the single most important feature of the site?

Content Development

Who will be designated as project manager? Are they authorized to make final decisions on all aspects of the site? If not, who is?

Will content on the site change on a regular basis? How often: Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

If content changes, who will prepare the content and add it to the site? Are they web savy?

Who will be responsible for writing new content and editing existing content?

Who will be responsible for writing news stories and posting calendar items after the new site launches.

If you are not providing finalized content, will you be looking for someone for copywriting/editing, procurement of stock photos and any other content?

Do you have a technical administrator and/or tech staff who will work directly with the Institute's producers, programmers and developers?

Design/Graphic Elements

Does your center have established branding/identity standards in place? What specific elements of the branding
need to be incorporated into the web site? Do you have a logo? Established center colors? A style guide?

What message needs to be reinforced through the graphic elements contained on the site?

Do you envision the use of photography or illustration on the site? Do you have a preference?

Do you have a photo archive that we can use for the site?

Would you like to utilize any multimedia features on the site? (Video or Audio) What value do you feel these add, both to the site as a whole and to your center's identity in general?

Technical and Marketing

Who is the intended audience?

How will you market your site?

What is the age range of the targeted visitor?

What do you want them to take away from the site?

What do you want the web site to say about you?

Who is your competition? Do they have a web presence?

List 6 web sites that appeal to you. Why did you select these? What elements of those sites would you like to see in your site?

What is your best estimate on the targeted end-user's web capabilities? Are they tech savvy?

What is your minimum requirement of browser capability?

What do you expect your audience's internet connection will be? 28K, 56k or broadband?

Other Considerations

Are there any forms or features on the site that require users to enter and submit information?

Are there any features that require database administration? (Calendar of events, course listings, job listing, etc.)

Is online commerce a feature of the site? Is it a consideration for future phases of development?

Is there any downloadable content that needs to be on the site? PDF's? Video? Will these need to be converted into web-ready files?